Maggie, I applaud your ability to get Ford to issue this and I think we all consider it a step in the right direction. It's people like you who will truly help us improve PR, as well as our slightly tarnished reputation within the marketing industry, for the better ;) After working for just over a year with Mr. SMR himself, Todd Defren, Chris Heuer, Shel Holtz, and Shannon Whitley on the future of "social" press releases, I think I finally figured out that the content and structure was only part of the equation. The other half is related to distribution and discovery. This at the moment, is more of a "thought in progress" than a definitive standard or direction. You bring up a great point and important distinction - one I believe is going to further assist companies to dip their toes into the new world of Social Media. As you said, sometimes we just want to share important information and connections to social networks instead of hosting conversations. I think it's going to help us define the difference between "new media" releases and "social Media" releases. To me, the SMR is much more than a collection of building blocks for reporters and journalists to write stories. It's the "social" elements that inspire me, as they can be a catalyst for conversations, either hosted or facilitated elsewhere. It really represents the opportunity for PR to engage directly with people as well. I'm of the belief that we can create and distribute multiple flavors of releases that appeal to different groups using the channels the reach them (customers, bloggers, journalists, etc.). It will combine mainstream PR while creating new arms and legs to reach important groups that comprise The Long Tail. My current project is working to take SMRs to a social platform with a partner static release (or releases, depending on the markets) that link back to it in order to distribute meaningful news, offer building blocks, and also facilitate and encourage conversations and sharing, all within a topical ecosystem in addition to ensuring a presence in both blog and traditional Web search engines. Again, well done Maggie. Take a bow. More on the evolution of the SMR here: http://www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-releases-everything-you.html

Maggie, As anachronistic as it may sound, don't lose sight of the many influential automotive bloggers -- both at the head and end of the tail. It's one thing to pull viewers to rich content, but personalized push remains a valid (and still effective) PR function. Rubber meets the road.

[...] Thursday October 11th 2007, 9:59 am Filed under: Advertising, Blogging, Social Software, Strategy Maggie Fox asks whether a site for social media sharing makes a good press release (here). The idea is that making images and video available for sharing [...]

Maggie, it is beautiful to behold. But I also kinda agree with Brian... To me this is a "Multimedia Release" moreso than a "Social Media Release." And I say that ONLY because this is how it is being displayed on a Ford site (vs. a wire site, where there is no ability for "socialization" with end users). That doesn't mean that it isn't a beauty and well worth doing. I like it. The creation and "sharing" on hi-quality content (Flickr, YouTube) is great in-and-of itself.

[...] Another great example of a social media news release (web-optimized news release or online electronic press kit…pick the term you like), this time for the 2008 Focus from Ford Motor Company via the talented Social Media Group. [...]

I really like this approach. I am a pragmatist by nature, and I think you should deploy the tools in the way that makes the most sense for the project. Is it truly social, well, if people take it and repurpose the content, then I would say yes it is. Or at least it enables connection. I like how you put it, "setting the content free." This is exactly what I am advocating with my clients and it is a huge move forward for corporations.

To Todd Defren: What is the difference between this (very good) Ford example and the one you recently issued on behalf of your client through Marketwire? I don't see how a wire service makes it any more social?

maggie it's awesome - the world is ready for this approach - the only prob is - many corps n orgs are not. what a pity. it's time to embrace it and acknowledge the hidden simplicity behind a social media NR vs a traditional nr. instead of having the editors log on google or digg etc for more juice - you pretty much fed it in that NR - good job!

one curious question - i'm wondering if one day - there'll ever be a case of 'template plagiarism' - what do you think? hmmm

[...] to the Ford PR team and their firm, the Social Media Group, for aggressively pursuing a new way of engaging media. Social Media Group blogger Maggie Fox [...]

It's great, and you are right that not everything needs to be interactive. At the same time, I think any release like this should have a 'click' to an interactive version that is itself a post in an ongoing blog. The release can come in email or as a link, but it should be *the visitor* not *the company* who decides on the level of interaction.

Hey everyone - thanks for all your kind words and interest! Ford is a great company to work for, and as I have said, they completely understand the value and importance of setting their content free in order to enable a broader discussion, which is really encouraging. Interesting point that's come up a few times - whether or not this release is truly "social" since it does not directly create a platform for discussion. For the record, this was not an oversight, but rather a deliberate strategy - with this SMPR, we were seeking to provide tools and content to enable bloggers and other content creators to discuss the 2008 Ford Focus. In other words, we weren't trying to build a conversation, but rather join one that was already underway, and hopefully make it a little richer and better-informed with easy-to-access content. The point is this: companies don't always have to "own" the discussion around their products, sometimes sharing is enough (and right). I do find it interesting that the act of enabling and encouraging discussion would be seen as anything but social! :-) Once again, thanks to everyone - it's so nice to feel the love!

Maggie, The release looks great. Very nice work! I've finally solidified my view on multimedia vs. social media. I tend to agree that a social release must facilitate conversation, but it doesn't necessarily need to host it. Speaking of template plagiarism, I'm thinking of adding a new template to PRX Builder. We might call it the MKF...

Maggie Who was this primarily sent to? Reporters and journalists? Bloggers? Curious seeing as how you wanted to join and not build conversations. Jonathan

Hi Jonathan, good question - the SMPR was sent out primarily to bloggers and other content creators in the social media space that we identified (by reading their blogs, etc.) as having an interest/having posted about either the car or Sync technology.

[...] her blog, Maggie Fox at Social Media Group tells us: “…with this implementation we were aiming for simply a way of sharing [...]

[...] Social Media Group » Blog Archive » Another take on the social media press release Description of the Social Media Release created for Ford (tags: pr pressrelease socialmedia socialmediarelease) [...]

[...] though, they are trying. People like Petro Canada or Ford are dipping their toes into the social media swamp - and taking the punches and expanding their [...]